You pays your money and you takes your package choice

More than 50 years after it was invented, the Great British package holiday is reinventing itself... in many different guises.

On a Britannia Airways flight from Bristol to Naples last week, I found that, while all of us on board may have been heading to the same destination, we would be taking very different holidays.

The couple on one side were on a late-availability deal to Sorrento. They would be staying in a four-star hotel but didn't know which one ('We have a good idea, though'). How much did they pay? 'About £400 each for the week. Not bad, eh?'

The family behind us were on a Thomson 'Small and Friendly' package to a, presumably, small and friendly hotel on the Amalfi coast ('We've been five times'). They paid the brochure rate of £550 each.

A man I talked to in the queue for boarding was with his family on a flight-only deal. 'We have friends who have a house overlooking Ischia.' He glanced at his watch. 'Within about an hour of landing we'll be on our terrace having a pre-lunch glass of chianti.' Breakfast in Nailsea, lunch in Naples.

I was on an 'A la Carte - holidays of distinction' - package to Le Agavi hotel in Positano. 'Discover some of the world's finest hotels offering excellent facilities and exceptional service,' trills the brochure. 'A la Carte hotels are chosen for their elegance and refinement...'

This sounds like standard brochure hype. But Le Agavi more than lived up to its billing. Practically chiselled into the cliff face and some 20 minutes walk from the centre of Positano, it was as good as a good Italian hotel can be.

My terrace had a dizzyingly beautiful view of Positano and the Amalfi coast. There was a swimming pool, a private beach, a wonderful restaurant and cheerful, helpful staff. It would be hard to imagine a more perfect place.

'Holidays of distinction', however, don't come cheap. A seven-night half-board flight-inclusive package to Le Agavi during June, for example, costs from £1,199.

The 'flight-only' man, by comparison, paid £124 each for his Naples tickets. With Thomson, these days, the phrase 'you pays your money and you takes your choice' has never been more appropriate.

Variety is the cornerstone of the company's philosophy. 'Thomson - a world of choice' as the advertising line puts it. It offers more than 30 different brands, from the main Summer Sun programme to skiing.

Chief executive Chris Mottershead admits that in the past five years Thomson's focus has switched to 'lifestyle' programmes such as A la Carte (for 'empty nesters' keen to stay in top hotels), Gold (for couples, offering child-free hotels) and Superfamilies (offering babysitting, creches, nappy packs and British baby food).

'Our customers are looking for something different - the 'one size fits all' package is no longer enough,' says Mr Mottershead. He thinks travellers want to spend as little as possible on their flight but are keen to splash out on a good time at the destination.

But this summer none of us may have to splash out as much as we thought. Mr Mottershead admits the Iraq war has hit bookings. 'There are great offers to countries particularly affected - Turkey, Cyprus, Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco,' he says.

With tour operators having to work harder to fight the effects of the Iraq war and the irresistible rise of the no-frills airlines, it promises to be a good summer for travel.